Proposed horse slaughterhouse polarizes industry

Charles Graham, executive director of New Mexico Horse Rescue at Walkin’ N Circles Ranch and a supporter of humane horse slaughter in the United States, stands with a young, abandoned horse in Edgewood, N.M., on Thursday, May 31, 2012. As horse rescue operations struggle to keep up with a growing number of neglected, abused and starving animals, some are advocating humane horse slaughter as a way to control an exploding equine population. (AP Photo/Jeri Clausing)
— AP

Charles Graham, executive director of New Mexico Horse Rescue at Walkin’ N Circles Ranch and a supporter of humane horse slaughter in the United States, stands with a young, abandoned horse in Edgewood, N.M., on Thursday, May 31, 2012. As horse rescue operations struggle to keep up with a growing number of neglected, abused and starving animals, some are advocating humane horse slaughter as a way to control an exploding equine population. (AP Photo/Jeri Clausing)
/ AP

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Emaciated horses barely clinging to life at a New Mexico auction house, their last stop before a lengthy trip to a slaughterhouse south of the border, give credence to grim tales from around the Southwest.

People unable to afford the rising cost of hay, dumping their horses on the side of the road. Tens of thousands of wild horses roaming public and tribal lands, stripping drought-plagued landscapes and draining stock tanks.

As horse rescue operations struggle to keep up with a growing number of neglected, abused and starving animals, a Roswell, N.M., businessman has filed an application to open what would be the first horse slaughterhouse to operate in the United States in five years.

The proposal by Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santos has reignited emotional debates over what constitutes humane treatment of horses, and how best to control an exploding equine population. Perhaps the most divisive question of all is whether the noble, iconic animals that played a key role in the settling of much of America are livestock or pets.

"It's probably the most polarizing issue the horse industry has had to face in a long time," said Ward Stutz, senior director of breed integrity at the American Quarter Horse Association in Amarillo, Texas, one of a number of livestock and horse groups that support a return to domestic slaughter.

"Let me just say it this way," he said. "We believe it is the owner's right to determine what is in the best interest of their horses. We recognize that there is a lot of abandonment and neglect, therefore we believe that horse slaughter should be available."

Many animal humane groups and public officials are outraged at the suggestion, including New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

"A horse's companionship is a way of life for many people across New Mexico," Martinez said after the proposal became public earlier this year. "We rely on them for work and bond with them through their loyalty. I believe creating a horse slaughter industry in New Mexico is wrong, and I am strongly opposed."

Supporters of horse slaughter point to a June 2011 report from the federal Government Accountability Office that shows cases of horse abuse and abandonment on a steady rise since Congress effectively banned horse slaughter by cutting funding for USDA inspection programs in 2006. But a bill passed last year authorized the USDA to resume horse slaughterhouse inspections, prompting the application from De Los Santos. His cattle slaughter business dropped off as area ranchers sold their herds because of drought.

"What we see here will actually break your heart," said Charles Graham, executive director of New Mexico Horse Rescue at Walkin' N Circles Ranch and a supporter of humane horse slaughter in the United States.

"The problem in New Mexico is there is a lot of land. People get a horse, the wife loses her job, they keep the new car, the big TV, the cable service, and a horse in the backyard starving," he said

In Colorado, the GAO report states, investigations for abuse and neglect increased more than 60 percent after horse slaughter was banned domestically, from 975 in 2005 to 1,588 in 2009. Although national data is lacking, the GAO report says California, Texas and Florida have also reported a rise in the number of abandoned horses since 2007.